Heat forward Shane Battier celebrates one of his six three-pointers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. / Steve Mitchell, USA TODAY Sports

by Alex Kennedy, USA TODAY Sports

by Alex Kennedy, USA TODAY Sports

MIAMI - On the morning of Game 7 of the 2013 NBA Finals, Miami Heat owner Micky Arison predicted that Shane Battier would have a big game.

He pulled Heat President Pat Riley aside and told him, "I know Shane. When he starts hitting threes, he doesn't stop." After watching him go 3-for-4 from beyond the arc in Game 6, Arison said that Battier was the key to a Game 7 victory. He couldn't have been more spot-on.

LeBron James was outstanding yet again, and Dwyane Wade had one of his best games of the playoffs. But Battier hitting six of eight three-pointers and contributing 18 points in 29 minutes was the difference for the Heat in a 95-88 victory vs. the San Antonio Spurs. The Heat had a plus-12 point differential with him on the court, better than for any other player.

"I knew he would do it," Arison told USA TODAY Sports. "I knew it. That's what happened last year and it happened again."

Last year, it was Mike Miller who stole the show in the Heat's last Finals game, hitting seven three-pointers and contributing 23 points off of the bench. In Thursday's game, Battier was the seldom-used veteran who stepped up in the biggest game of the season.

The 34-year-old forward struggled throughout most of the postseason - at one point, even losing his spot in the rotation - but he delivered Thursday and admitted he felt like Miller when his shots were falling.

"I did a little bit, I did feel like him," Battier told USA TODAY Sports. "I was pretty bad for most of the series so it felt good to finally get back to the law of averages.

"I wanted to be there for my guys, there for my brothers. I'm glad I was able to pull my weight."

Battier was mobbed by his teammates in the locker room and doused with champagne after his big game.

"Shane ain't hit a shot since I don't know when, but tonight he was unconscious," Wade said with a laugh. "He's just a big-time player. You want that for Shane so bad. You wanted to see those shots go in for him because of everything he stands for. Shane, he's going to go down as one of my favorite teammates of all-time just because of the guy that he is. We needed it. We needed every inch of what everybody gave."

"Hey, that's Shane Battier man," Heat point guard Mario Chalmers said. "I give him the player of the game; him and LeBron. Shane stepped up. He's been struggling all playoffs, so to come out tonight and hit six threes in Game 7, it was unbelievable."

Battier won three state championships at Detroit County Day High School in Beverly Hills, Mich., and one at Duke University in 2001, when he was the national player of the year as a senior. Now he has two titles in two years with the Heat.

"He was outstanding," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "There's something about that guy. He has championship DNA. He's got it. He's won at every single level. As the series went on and the moments became more important, he had a bigger factor. That's not a coincidence."

When Battier hit a bank shot from three-point range in Game 6, he knew that his shot was going to start falling.

"I believe in the basketball gods," Battier said. "I felt that they owed me big time. I had a bunch of shots in San Antonio that went in and out. So when that banker went in, I said you know what, they owe me. It was the start of a pretty good streak there.

"Honestly, I felt good the last couple of games. And I made a couple of threes last game, and so I felt really confident tonight. I knew that our starters were going to be pretty tired after Game 6. It was an emotionally and physically draining game. I only played 12 minutes so I felt great."

Not only did Battier's six three-pointers give Miami a huge boost on the offensive end, he also had arguably the defensive play of the night. With less than a minute in the game and the Spurs trailing by two, Battier had the difficult task of guarding Spurs star Tim Duncan in the post.

Duncan backed him down and then put up a hook shot, but it didn't fall and Miami was able to seal the game.

"I'm 215 pounds and 6-foot-8, so obviously I'm giving up major weight and height to Duncan," Battier said with a smile. "So I was just praying that he missed it."

Battier was Miami's unlikely hero in Game 7. He missed shot after shot during this postseason run, but hit the ones that counted the most on Thursday evening.

"It feels really good," Battier said. "Last year, I had a horrific shooting slump to start the year, my mantra was I'll regress to the mean. And I believe in that. I knew that my shooting was not indicative of the numbers that I put up last year, and it was very similar to the stretch right now. I know I'm a better shooter than my numbers put up. â?¦ When I have open looks, I expect to make them. And I did."